1. Technical Field of the Invention
The present invention relates in general to the telecommunications field and, in particular, to a method and system for using the World-Wide Web (WWW) to define certain mobile phone services a user may desire (or needs) to see on a mobile phone display.
2. Description of Related Art
Existing telephone systems typically offer a multitude of complicated services to users. However, the users typically are interested in only relatively few of the services being offered. In that regard, the GF788 mobile phone system manufactured by Telefonaktiebolaget L M Ericsson allows a user to decide just what items are to be shown in the mobile phone""s menu display, and input that information directly into the phone. On the other hand, some existing mobile phone systems require the use of a graphical user interface for a computer to determine what type of xe2x80x9clow-level xe2x80x9d phone services a particular mobile phone will provide. An example of such a xe2x80x9clow-level xe2x80x9d phone service is a routing service that forwards a call from one phone to another depending on the identity of the party who placed the call.
A problem encountered with the existing mobile phone systems is that users now want to decide for themselves just what services will be displayed on their mobile phones. These services can be xe2x80x9clow-level xe2x80x9d or xe2x80x9chigh-level xe2x80x9d services (e.g., services displayed on a so-called xe2x80x9cSmart-phone xe2x80x9d), such as an analog or digital clock display, or a calendar display, etc. Also, users want to be able to customize the display of these services to meet their own special needs. As such, some users want to be able to design the xe2x80x9clook and feel xe2x80x9d for their own mobile phones. However, existing mobile phone systems either do not provide these user viewing capabilities or they are provided in inconsistent and inconvenient ways. As described below, the present invention successfully resolves these problems.
In accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention, a mobile phone user can select one or more service preferences for the mobile phone from a simulated mobile phone display on an Internet web page. The user can access the web page from a personal or business computer. Once the selection has been made, the user can save the preferences to a server in the mobile phone network. The server contains (or provides links to) the full complement of services that are available for selection. The selected services"" applications are downloaded from the server to the mobile phone (via the network) either immediately (if a network connection is already made) or the next time the phone is turned on. Consequently, the user can readily obtain the services desired, and also customize the display and xe2x80x9clook and feel xe2x80x9d of the mobile phone.
An important technical advantage of the present invention is that users can conveniently view and obtain the exact services they desire for their mobile phones.
Another important technical advantage of the present invention is that users can readily access the WWW to view and select the services they desire to use on their mobile phones.